


heaven's ascent

by elysieal (rosaire)



Series: to breathe again [2]
Category: Granblue Fantasy (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Body Worship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Nightmares, Sensual Sex, set after 000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:35:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24498790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosaire/pseuds/elysieal
Summary: Lucifer died. He died but never found rest, his soul forever haunted by the words left unsaid, the regrets left behind.Lucifer came back. He came back but never found peace, his mind forever haunted by what is real, what is fantasy—no longer sure which is which.At least he has Sandalphon to remind him and love him all over again.
Relationships: Lucifer/Sandalphon (Granblue Fantasy)
Series: to breathe again [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1770031
Comments: 15
Kudos: 76





	heaven's ascent

**Author's Note:**

> another project idea from January—surprise it's sanluci
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/ecliptica000)

He descends into darkness when he bids the day good night. 

His eyes close heavy with the dregs of rue, turning away from the comfort of the sun, and he surrenders himself to the arms of the abyss below. They coil around him in cold, thin tendrils that slither over his skin, flicking black tongues against alabaster to stain with obsidian; the color does not suit him. It does not suit him and yet it consumes him with the hunger of a beast left ravenous and scorned.

Phantom hands ghost over his face. They stitch his pretty lips shut. They pour tar into his eyes until blue sullies into black. They take hold of his throat and tighten and tighten and _tighten_ until his lovely face darkens into the blue of the midnight sky watching in silent judgement above.

He can no longer speak. He can no longer see. He can no longer _be._

All he can do is float in these occluded waters that avail him nothing, pushing and pulling against him as though he were a shore battered by a storming sea. The waves crash against him, flooding his ears with voices upon voices from a past so distant, yet so near, it engraves its cold name into his mind with stinging steel.

The promises he made, the promises he broke. The bonds he severed with a single swing of his blade before he even realized they had been attached to him in the first place. His hands still burn with the boiling hot blood of his friend, staining him down to the bone. His ears still ring with the tauntingly vile voice of whom he _mistook_ to be a friend, carving into his body with a single quip let loose from smirking lips.

_It’s nothing personal, Cifer._

Oh, but it _had_ been. It had been personal and so much more, an elucidation to the truth of what had been transpiring behind the closed doors he walked past every day without so much as an ounce of curiosity or suspicion. It had been personal. It had been intentional.

It had been _retribution._

Retribution for everything he never said, for everything he never did when he should have. It had begun with Sandalphon—the one that, for the very first time in the entirety of his stagnant existence, had filled him with a sensation so strange, yet so sweet, he sought to cage the seraph away to keep him the same forever. Never had he known the harm that his love dealt until the sky nearly fell at his feet.

_Did you even care?_

_Did any of it ever matter?_

_Did I mean anything to you?_

You did, he should have said. You meant so much to me I never wanted you to change from what you were. My equal, he should have said. So much more than what the world wanted you— _expected_ you to be.

It had begun with Sandalphon, and it had ended with Sandalphon. He had watched Sandalphon walk away from him when all was said and done, in the same way he had walked away from Sandalphon when nothing had been said at all.

And now, he is alone, drowning in the waters of the sea overflowing with these memories. This is his penance for all of eternity.

_But is that what you want?_

The question whispers against his ear, soft and light like a feather. The voice is familiar—yet it’s not all the same.

_It isn’t, is it?_

His lips sewn shut, he cannot reply.

_Tell me, Lucifer. Tell me what you truly want._

With an arm heavier than lead, he struggles to reach for the sky above, formless and vacant of stars. Far in the distance a dim light flickers. He cannot see it, but he can feel its warmth radiating through the leagues of dark matter between them. It’s far, too far, and yet he swears his fingertips can barely brush against its warmth. Oh, what he would do to grasp it, to steal it away and store it within his core forever.

He cannot speak what he wants, but he can feel it, envision it, whisper its name in the recesses of his mind where no one but himself will hear.

_Sandalphon._

But the moment he does, the moment his heart pounds in rhythm to each syllable echoing in silence, the warmth fades. The light that he once knew to be there is gone, choosing a new path for itself.

A path that does not involve him.

_Are you a fool? What makes you think he wants anything to do with you, after everything you did—no, after everything you didn’t do?_

The voice is no longer a whisper. It is knife after knife plunged into him while the inky black tendrils hold him down and the swirling sea fills his lungs with salt.

_You don’t deserve him. You never did. From the moment you created him, he was never meant for your hands to hold. This—this is your penance. What you deserve._

_Death._

Tears run in rivulets down his face and pour into the sea enveloping him. It is only then that he realizes that he’s floating in a sea of his own sorrow.

_He never did love you._

He descends into darkness when he bids his solace goodbye.

* * *

Lucifer has never been the type to wake up with much of a fuss; his eyes simply flutter open, and a soft sigh escapes his lips into the cool morning air. Even in the wake of a nightmare he rises from bed calmly, quietly, taking in his surroundings to remind himself of what is here, what is real.

Tonight is not any different. The nightmare rouses him awake to a dark room, silent save for the hammering of his heart against his ribcage, and the faint breathing from the warm body nestled beside him. He turns his head and stares at the body barely outlined in the darkness. He reaches out, tentative, until his fingers brush against curly locks.

“Sandalphon…,” he mutters under his breath. The one in question shifts slightly in his sleep, but remains undisturbed. Lucifer wills himself to smile; Sandalphon is here, with him in the same room on the same ship. This is the reality he lives in.

...Isn’t it?

Doubt trickles into his head. What if this is simply a mirage? An illusion concocted by his own desperate, ceaseless yearning? What if he’s still trapped in that purgatory realm, driven to such madness that he has resorted to conceiving the image of Sandalphon in some inane attempt to fill the void in his chest?

He raises his hand to his neck and traces a circle around it; no scars. He reaches behind himself and drags his fingertips over his back; no scars. There is no evidence of his demise imprinted anywhere on his body.

So how does he know this is real?

Heaving out a deep, slow sigh, he drags himself out of the bed and pads over to the locked balcony door; the Singularity had insisted on installing a balcony for the purpose of stretching their wings without leaving the comfort of their cabin. Lucifer had already been grateful for its addition from the start, but now, as he unlocks the door with a quiet _click_ , he finds himself more than simply appreciative for this pocket of escape from a reality he’s not truly sure is there.

At least the skies are a familiar comfort no matter where fate decides he should be. He closes the door behind himself and takes one, two, three steps until he’s leaning against the railing, the wind whispering softly against his skin. Above, the stars play hide and seek among the fluffy clouds dyed in midnight ink, and the thin, visible sliver of the moon cradles its own shadow within lustrous arms.

He watches the night pass him by as his thoughts continue to meander aimlessly, lost in a labyrinth of his own design. If this world, this life, is merely a fantasy… Should he stay? Should he continue to play pretend with the illusions and fabrications that haunt him even in dreams? Or should he break himself free from this prison before the madness claims him once and for all, leaving him past the point of salvation?

...But what if this is real? What will he do then? Will he allow himself to partake in the joys that this life brings, whether he deems himself deserving or not? Or will he turn away from it all, abandoning the sun, the light, the sky that he fell in love with and ultimately gave his life for?

Will he let Sandalphon go a second time?

Each question is another needle that pricks and sews itself deep into his heart, and he can’t bring himself to tear out the stitching. He doesn’t know what to do; his life before this one had been full of orders and missions and beasts and Astrals and blood. He met every problem with violence, trading words and diplomacy for his sword and his beams of blinding light. Never did he shed a tear. Never did he understand the weight of what he did not just to those around him, but to himself.

And now, with neither swords nor wings, he’s at a loss. He’s never felt this hopeless, this aimless, driven into doubt by the vile tongue of guilt. He’s never felt this—this _powerless._

In the past, he had known who, or rather, what he was—Lucifer, the Supreme Primarch, the singular soul destined to watch evolution thrive underneath his watchful gaze. This was his preordained destiny, his reason for existing. He had played no other role up until the moment his breath was robbed from his lungs and he was left as nothing but a smattering of crimson feathers.

Now, in this new body woven together with alchemical needle and thread, he hardly knows who or what he’s meant to be. His soul is out of place with his body, a series of fragments held together by a string too thin to weather the calamity brewing in his mind. And it’s only a matter of time until the string snaps and he shatters under the force of his own aimless will.

He drops his face into his hands and rubs the ache in his eyes away. The night winds howl as the ship careens through the sky, drowning the voices in his head for just a moment. But the respite is only brief. The voices return soon after, dripping more venom, but before they can sear through him once more, another dispels the silence of the night to usurp their reign.

“Lucifer?”

He stills. Lifting his head, he looks over his shoulder to find Sandalphon closing the door behind himself, a yawn forcing itself free as he runs his fingers through sleep-mussed hair. “Oh, Sandalphon. I apologize if I disturbed you,” Lucifer says; there’s that habit of his again, apologizing for every little thing—even that which is out of his control.

Sandalphon shakes his head. “There’s no need to apologize,” he murmurs, stepping up to stand beside him. “I stopped feeling your warmth, so I feared that something may have happened to you.” He sighs, then smiles sleepily. “I’m relieved to know that isn’t the case.”

Lucifer wills himself to return the smile, but the gesture comes out awkward, strained. He can’t lie to Sandalphon, not when his body speaks truths on his behalf.

Sandalphon’s smile ebbs away. “... _Did_ something happen?”

“Only a nightmare,” Lucifer answers. There’s a tired, heavy edge to his tone, weighing with all of the dull noise in his head. “It’s...nothing out of the ordinary, I assure you.”

“Nonsense,” Sandalphon scoffs, crossing his arms over his chest. “An ordinary nightmare wouldn’t entail this much unease. I sense it, Lucifer. I hear it in your voice. That wasn’t simply any other nightmare, was it?”

Lucifer presses his lips into a firm, thin line. He means to stay the truth on his tongue, to deny it the luxury of being spoken into life, but the burning resolve of Sandalphon’s gaze—piercing him straight through to his soul—melts away all intention of deceit. He can’t lie to Sandalphon, not when his lips seek only to lavish him with everything embedded in his heart.

“...No,” he breathes at last. The tension tightening his muscles pours out of him alongside the admission. It’s cathartic—a relief from his self-imposed reservations. “No, it wasn’t. It was…” He searches for the right words in Sandalphon’s eyes, but his mouth can’t wrap around the syllables, can’t push them out into the open for the night to hear and carry through the sky.

But Sandalphon understands. He reaches out and slides his hands along either side of Lucifer’s face, caressing the soft planes of his cheeks with gentle, gliding fingertips. Somehow, he understands, and Lucifer knows better than to be surprised. Time and time again Sandalphon has unearthed the secrets buried deep inside of Lucifer, reaching into him with kind, warm hands that hold him and wordlessly promise to never let go of him again.

Lucifer lays his scars out for Sandalphon to see, for he knows that Sandalphon will safeguard each one with a vow woven into a kiss.

“...I dreamt of my death,” Lucifer speaks in a hushed, near breathless voice, and if it weren’t for Sandalphon’s keen senses, his words would’ve been lost to the endless sea of the sky. “And all the darkness that came with.”

Sandalphon’s breath hitches softly. Worry creases his brow, and a lingering ache tugs his lips into a slight frown. He, too, bears the same scars as Lucifer, although his have faded over the passing years.

But Lucifer—Lucifer, who only just learned how to breathe again, how to live again—has yet to heal the open, stinging wounds left bleeding and raw. He has yet to find the one star among the clouds to lead him back home, where he belongs.

Little does Lucifer know that the star stands right in front of him.

“Lucifer…,” Sandalphon murmurs, his tone as gentle as his touch. He coaxes Lucifer close until their foreheads touch, until the only distance between them are their breaths visible in the cool night. He cups Lucifer’s cheeks, peers into serene blue eyes whose beauty outmatch even the sky they have both sworn to protect. “How long?”

“I cannot say,” Lucifer whispers. His hands reach up to run along Sandalphon’s arms, tracing the veins in a slow meander. “All the nights...blur into the same. I’ve lost count of the days, and even now, I cannot make sense of this moment.” He closes his eyes, lashes kissing the curves of his cheeks. “Is this real, or is this merely another fragment of another dream?”

A calm sorrow tinges his voice. He has never been the type to fall into swirling tempests of emotions, the unstable forces that adhere only to their own whims. Impulse and instinct may yet still reign over him, but emotions remain a labyrinth of mysteries he has only just now begun to explore, only to lose himself every time he doesn’t know which way to turn.

“This is real,” Sandalphon assures him. He speaks soothingly, the timbre in his voice caressing pleasantly around Lucifer’s ears. “ _I_ am real. I am real, and I am here with you, where I belong.”

Lucifer opens his eyes halfway; his pupils glow softly, yet enough to rival the grandeur of the watching stars. “Are you truly?” The question rolls out with a tremble. “Are you truly here with me? And will you stay, despite all that I did and didn’t do?” His fingers curl around Sandalphon’s wrist. “Do I deserve to be a part of your new dr—”

Lips collide with his own. The action is haphazard at first, an impulsive burst of passion that can only belong to Sandalphon and the emotions that demand to be known—but it isn’t long until their lips melt together and the cage of uncertainty that entrapped Lucifer’s heart melts along with it. Lucifer finds himself with the air robbed from his lungs, but it’s Sandalphon who fills him with oxygen—with _life_ —once more, just as he had done when he reached for Lucifer’s hand and pulled him out from the realm where souls begin and end.

Once more, Sandalphon reaches for him, and once more, Lucifer meets him halfway, grasping onto this beautiful, brilliant star who illuminated his life since the halcyon days of Canaan. Once more, Sandalphon reminds him of what he wants, and once more, Lucifer can’t resist the pleas of his own fragmented soul, yearning for that which he never yearned before.

This is his apotheosis—the deification of his desires above all else. This is his ascension into a heaven far more a paradise than any other place in the skies, in the universe.

“You are my dream,” Sandalphon whispers when he parts from the sweetness of Lucifer’s lips. He threads his fingers through Lucifer’s hair and glides his touch down to his neck. “You are my _home._ Wherever you are, I want nothing more than to be there alongside you. I cannot bear the thought of losing you again—much less the thought of walking away from you when I already did so once and regretted _every_ moment of it.”

His voice trembles with emotion, but the resolve in the crimson of his eyes burns hot and true. Lucifer seeks solace from those flames as one would from a hearth, melting into the warmth to brace against the incoming storm.

“Sandalphon,” Lucifer breathes with all of the wonder of someone who found their greatest treasure. “Sandalphon… My solace, my everything.” He closes his eyes as a shudder runs through his body, and wetness beads like drops of dew on his lashes.

Sandalphon smiles and soothingly rubs his thumbs over Lucifer’s cheeks. “Our pasts will never truly leave us, but,” he continues, “we must not allow them to define us in our present. We hurt each other, but we can heal each other. We can forge a new future for ourselves with all that we’ve come to learn.” His hands fall away from Lucifer’s face to grasp onto his hands. “I’ve learned so much, Lucifer. About myself and these skies, and I still have so much more to know.”

He raises Lucifer’s hands and kisses them softly. “The world took you before you could have the chance to do the same. But now that you are here, free of those shackles, there is nothing to stop you from doing the same but your own will. You have the power and the choice to live the life you want. Nothing—no one can take that away from you anymore.”

Sandalphon coaxes Lucifer closer, into his arms, enveloping him in his warmth and his scent and everything else that he is. “I won’t let anyone take that from you,” he vows with a kiss to Lucifer’s forehead. “I promise you, my Lucifer, my guiding light. This life is your own, and it always will be. This is the reality you always deserved to have.”

Lucifer rests his head against the crook of Sandalphon’s shoulder and sighs. “I wish to spend it alongside you.”

“And I with you.”

Their lips find each other once more. Lucifer breathes out a pleasant little sigh, and Sandalphon responds in turn; he guides Lucifer back into their shared space, closing the door behind themselves so that the watchful moon is no longer privy. Here, in this room, they can bare their vulnerabilities to one another even more, naked and exposed only for their eyes to see, their hands to touch, their mouths to taste and savor.

“Lucifer,” Sandalphon mutters huskily as he loses his fingers in the soft waves of Lucifer’s hair. “Will you let me touch you tonight?”

Lucifer gazes at him for a moment, the proximity of their bodies—no breath of space between them—spreading warmth across his face. “Of course,” he replies softly. “Remind me… Remind me of what you feel like.”

“Oh, Lucifer,” Sandalphon coos, a smirk playing on his lips. “I will do so much more than that.” Hands on Lucifer’s hips, he guides him to the bed, to lie flat on the mattress. “I will ensure you never forget.” He coaxes Lucifer’s legs open and kneels between them, placing himself where he knows he belongs. “I will engrave myself into you… I will weave every part of me into your body, until you feel me, and only me, in the same way I feel you…”

Placing his hands on the mattress on either side of Lucifer’s head, Sandalphon leans over him with a gaze that simmers in adoration and desire. “I will give you,” he mutters breathlessly, lowering himself until their lips _barely_ brush together, “all that you want, all that you need.”

Another kiss, this time as Sandalphon’s hands begin to roam over the thinly clothed planes of Lucifer’s body. He drags his fingertips down Lucifer’s chest, to his stomach, until they find the hem of his tight, black shirt; he slides his hands underneath and slowly pushes the garment up, exposing soft, warm skin ripe for his touch. Hesitance cast aside, he brings his lips to that beautiful, perfect body, and lays a trail of kisses down the curve of Lucifer’s stomach to the dip of his navel, his hands snaking down Lucifer’s sides as he travels downward.

Soft breaths fall from Lucifer’s parted lips, a truly wondrous sound no matter how subtle. Sandalphon lavishes the lines between Lucifer’s muscles with the tip of his tongue, savoring the strong, heady aroma of leather woven into the fibers of his skin. He inhales softly after every kiss, no doubt filling his lungs and senses with Lucifer, and only Lucifer.

“Sandalphon…” Lucifer arches his head back into the cushiony pillow and his eyelids flutter closed in pure, unadulterated bliss. “S-Sandalphon…” Every kiss from Sandalphon’s lips, every skimming of his fingers across sensitive skin fans the warm, fuzzy haze spreading inside. He loses himself to such pleasant heat, even more so when Sandalphon’s hands glide to caress his chest.

Through half-lidded eyes, Sandalphon drinks in the sight of Lucifer melting underneath him. “How does it feel?” he asks, perching his hands on the supple flesh of Lucifer’s chest.

“Wonderful…,” Lucifer replies, breathless. “It feels wonderful, with you.”

“I’ve only touched you with my hands and my mouth. I can only imagine...how much more you will melt when I give you everything…,” Sandalphon mutters. He thumbs against the pair of pink nubs, and Lucifer’s breath hitches into a gasp. “Still so sensitive, aren’t you?”

Lucifer takes a moment to reclaim his voice. “...Of course I am, when I’m with you. Every time you touch me… It feels as though I’m feeling you for the first time, all over again.”

Sandalphon chuckles. “And yet I know everything about your body by now,” he coos, squeezing Lucifer’s chest; the gesture earns him a breathy moan. “What you like the most… What unravels you to me… You’ve placed yourself at a disadvantage, I’m afraid, and I’m not the one to miss out on opportunity when it presents itself. Especially not when it comes to the matter of loving you.”

Breathing in and out deeply, the rise and fall of his chest under Sandalphon’s firm hands, all Lucifer can do is stare at the one he will gladly yield himself to. “...Then do it,” he breathes. “Demonstrate to me the extent of your love.”

“Oh, _gladly_.”

Sandalphon’s hands worship Lucifer’s body without repose—they pray at his chest, gripping and caressing in desperate yet tender reverence; they utter mantras into the subtle curves of his lean muscles, feeling them tense and relax with every blessed word; they dance in devotion across his legs, sliding up and down his inner thighs until he trembles in silent euphoria. 

Once, Lucifer had been a god, indifferent and out of reach in the clouds. Now he is simply another man, one that Sandalphon reveres with all of the worldly pleasures of worldly bodies. The ecstasy is not any less divine. If anything, it is greater, grander, the intimacy of body against body and hearts beating in tandem more sacred than pleas falling on deaf ears.

Here, they ask and they receive. They take and they give, anything and everything all for each other, no other entity to intrude on the sweet fruit meant only for lovers.

“Sandalphon, please—” Lucifer whimpers. He grasps at the sheets, fingers straining at the fabric; his body shivers under Sandalphon’s slow, sensual ministrations, but the heat seeping into every nerve demands more, _more_ , until it burns. He wants—no, _needs_ —everything that Sandalphon can possibly give, and he needs it now more than ever.

Sandalphon understands without needing to ask, perhaps just as desperate as Lucifer. His hands tremble with need as he tugs Lucifer’s leggings down, and even more so as he wraps his fingers around Lucifer’s arousal. He strokes him with a slow, yet firm grip, twisting his fist along the heated length. Lucifer’s reaction is instantaneous—his back curves into a beautiful arch and the most gorgeous moan sings out from his lungs.

“Please…,” he gasps. “More…”

And he receives what he so sweetly asks for. Sandalphon strokes him base to tip, slow and steady, while he reaches over to retrieve the bottle of oil from the bedside drawer. He slathers his fingers with a generous amount of the cool, unscented substance, before bringing one digit to prod against Lucifer’s entrance. “Relax for me,” Sandalphon coaxes in a tone so soothing and comforting Lucifer can’t help but to obey.

Lucifer gives way to Sandalphon’s finger seamlessly; it slips into the heat of his body without much resistance, but Lucifer’s thighs tense just the tiniest bit as Sandalphon sinks it all the way in. “Breathe… I’ll take care of you,” Sandalphon mutters as he presses a kiss to the inside of Lucifer’s thigh. The tension loosens under his lips. Encouraged, Sandalphon continues to pepper soft, feathery kisses along the thighs framing his head.

“S-Sandalph—” A sweet gasp forces itself out from Lucifer when he feels the finger curl inside of him and press into his hot walls. The burst of pleasure relaxes him considerably, prompting Sandalphon to ease a second finger inside. He works Lucifer open slowly, the oil smoothing the slide of both fingers, his eyes never leaving Lucifer’s face as he studies his reactions.

Suffice to say, Lucifer looks beautiful—no, he looks _gorgeous_ like this. A rose-colored cheek pressed against the pillow and locks of snow white hair splayed across the fabric. Cupid’s bow lips parted oh so slightly, as slow, heavy breaths ghost past them into the air dense with the heat and musky odor of their passion. Such a shame that he is blind to his own beauty, unable to see himself for the ethereal radiance that he both brings and embodies.

And even if he could witness his own beauty, he wouldn’t spare it another thought. To him, there is no being more beautiful than Sandalphon, his solace, his reason to breathe again.

A revering hand lays itself atop Sandalphon’s head. Fingers weave through the soft brown locks as Lucifer utters his name in a breathless invocation.

“Please.”

That one simple word is enough. More than enough. Lucifer watches through teary, half-lidded eyes as Sandalphon retracts his fingers from Lucifer’s slick warmth, raises himself to his knees, and undoes the leather bindings of his pants. He takes himself into hand with a sharp intake of air and slathers every heated inch with the oil. Grasping onto Lucifer’s thighs, he pushes those beautiful, strong legs forward, nearly folding Lucifer in half, and braces his hands against the backs of his knees.

“Lucifer...,” Sandalphon calls out in a dazed tone. Crimson irises burn dark with fervent ardor, and Lucifer can’t help but shudder under his intense, hot gaze. “Do you accept me? All of me?”

Lucifer wets his lips in anticipation. “I do. Of course I do. Everything, all of y— _ah!_ ”

The tip of Sandalphon’s length nudges against Lucifer’s entrance and sinks in without another thought. Lucifer responds with a sweet gasp, and soon a chorus of soft breaths follows as he feels every inch slide into him. It only takes a few precious moments until Sandalphon fully sheathes himself, a low, deep groan rumbling out from his chest.

“Are you—” He sucks in a breath through his teeth. “—alright?”

Lucifer bites his lip, inhaling deeply as he wills his body to relax. “Y-yes,” he sighs out. “I’m fine…” He’s more than just fine—he feels as heavenly as heaven itself, every nerve alighting with undying seraphic flames. The fragments of his soul come together and for once he is whole again.

“Please…,” he breathes. “There’s no need to hold back.”

“But—the last thing I want to do is hurt you or—or discomfort you in some way,” Sandalphon insists, his words punctuated with heavy, labored breaths. His brows knit in both pleasure and focus, and Lucifer knows it’s taking him every ounce of willpower to restrain himself.

“No… You could never.” Lucifer tilts his head to the side and gazes at Sandalphon through eyes filling with a rising tide. Flexible in all the right places, he angles his hips higher, taking Sandalphon in deeper with a shuddering gasp. “I want to feel you—all of you. Everything that you can possibly give. Prove to me that _this_ —that _you_ —are real.”

Sandalphon swallows thickly. “...If you so insist.” With those final words, he slowly raises his hips until only the tip of his length is inside, and pushes back in without resistance. 

A _beautiful_ moan paints the air in shades of euphoria. Lucifer arches his head back as pleasure ripples through him in waves, every push and pull of Sandalphon inside of him elevating him to heights his wings could never reach. He loses himself to the ecstasy surging through his body as though it were oxygen coursing through his veins. He loses himself to Sandalphon as though he were life itself etching its kiss and breath into every minute detail of his body.

Sandalphon thrusts into him harder, faster, encouraged by Lucifer’s moans and gasps. He mounts him deeper without another thought but the sheer urge to imprint himself inside Lucifer forever. Hands gripping tight onto Lucifer’s legs, he musters his speed and strength, biting his lip as he pounds into Lucifer over and over without any indication of slowing down.

And Lucifer takes it all willingly. Pressed against his chest, his legs tremble with every thrust carving deep into his tight heat. He twitches and gasps every time Sandalphon brushes so, _so_ close against that elusive bundle of nerves, only for him to let out a strained cry when Sandalphon finally hits his mark.

“S-Sandalphon…!” Lucifer cries out oh so sweetly, his voice climbing higher with every strong, rough thrust to that spot. White bursts behind his eyes and the stars above fall within reach; he raises his hands to grasp onto them, keeping them within his hold forever. They burn in his grip in rhythm to the heat pulsating through his body. These stars, these beautiful stars… He will never let go of them.

Clarity comes to grace him. He sees his hands grasping not stars, but Sandalphon’s face, caressing him close. He traces the curves and dips of his flushed face with fingers desperate to inscribe every detail into memory for years to come. Sandalphon—Lucifer’s star, his guide back home. The star he thought he could never have is here, inside of him, all around him, nothing to keep them apart.

“I l-love you,” Lucifer confesses into the sacred space between them. Tears brim in the sky of his eyes, but they are not born of sorrow.

Sandalphon accepts every hallowed word into his heart as he kisses the tears from Lucifer’s face. “I love you too.”

With those words the ecstasy peaks and the heat unravels in a burst of stars. Lucifer throws his head back and marks his ascension with a melodious moan and a rhythmic shudder of his entire body. Euphoria sings in the whimper that comes after. Hot, white bliss streaks itself across his stomach in the dissipating waves of quivering rapture.

Sandalphon follows suit only moments later. Lucifer’s name echoes in a prayer as his own climax surges through him. Shudders run through his body as he fills Lucifer with everything he can possibly give; he fills him until Lucifer overflows and the warmth trickles onto the sheets.

Their lips find each other again and again in the afterglow. Hands caress sweat-slick faces, brush matted hair away from dazed eyes. Sweet nothings kiss the silence away among the synchronized beating of bound hearts.

“With you, always,” Sandalphon murmurs into the curve of Lucifer’s neck.

Lucifer breathes in the heady aroma of sex mingled with Sandalphon and sighs, meandering in bliss. “With you, my star, my home.”

He ascends into the heavens when he kisses his love good night.

* * *

A month passes.

Cloudless skies watch as a large crowd gathers on the deck, eager to send Lucifer and Sandalphon off with gifts of food and well wishes—except Sandalphon happens to be nowhere in sight. Ever the patient saint, Lucifer fills in the time by exchanging pleasantries and good tidings with the crew.

Djeeta huffs, hands on her hips. "Where did Sandalphon disappear off to, anyway?"

"Something tells me he's fussing over the cafe before he leaves," Gran voices in between mouthfuls of cookies. "He'll be here. He's been organizing this whole trip like crazy so I know he'll be here."

"He's sure taking his sweet time..."

Right on cue, Sandalphon rushes out from the ship onto the deck, closely followed by Sariel, Europa, and a teary-eyed Grimnir blowing into a handkerchief. He weaves through the crowd to take his spot beside Lucifer, taking a moment to catch his breath before addressing the curious faces peering at him. "S-sorry," he heaves out. "I may have gotten in over my head ensuring everything is in place."

The thick stack of notes in Sariel's hands exists in agreement.

"It's quite alright," Lucifer assures him with a soft smile. "Everyone was only just saying their goodbyes. We've also received a fair number of gifts for us to enjoy."

Djeeta saunters up to the two and throws her arm around Sandalphon's shoulders. "I made sure you won't forget me by drawing my face on every single cookie in the best icing available. Think of me when you bite into my beautiful eyes."

"It's not a permanent leave. Why would I forget you?" Sandalphon grumbles, narrowing his eyes.

"Oh, no reason, definitely not because you're always oh Lucifer this, oh Lucifer that, to the point you forget other people exist."

"That's not tr—"

Gran appears on Sandalphon's other side and mimics his sister's gesture. "You better remember me too."

"You're both wasting our time." Sandalphon unceremoniously shoves them off. "I told you two countless times that we'll only be away for a couple of months. If anything happens, we'll know and return immediately."

"Don't worry about it! We're perfectly capable of throwing hands while you _lose_ yourself in Lucifer's eyes," Gran quips, cupping his own face and swooning for dramatic flair.

"I despise you."

"You _love_ us."

While the three continue to bicker, two-versus-one, Lucifer merely watches with a content, peaceful smile on his face. Although he knows their journey away from the Grandcypher is only temporary, he will miss the crew with their bustling energy and playful antics. At least he knows they will still be there when he comes back. At least he knows there are people for him to return to no matter wherever they are in the vast skies.

Finally, Sandalphon ends the quarrel with a triumphant remark, and quickly takes Lucifer's hand before another interruption dares to rear its head. He leads him to the ship railing, only stopping to turn and wave the crowd farewell. As their wings unfurl simultaneously, Sandalphon squeezes Lucifer's hand and focuses all of his attention on him.

"Where to?" he asks.

"Wherever you'd like to go," Lucifer answers.

Chuckling softly, Sandalphon shakes his head. "No, no. Remember. This is _your_ journey. We go where _you_ want to go."

Of course. How could he forget what spurred this decision? With a breathless chuckle, Lucifer squeezes Sandalphon's hand in return and turns his gaze toward the endless azure horizon.

"In that case..."

**Author's Note:**

> thanks to [Ara](https://twitter.com/makarakaja) for providing the artwork for this piece!!


End file.
